June 26

Well the day started with a big surprise!!  We received an email at 8:30 am that our 11:50 am Alaska Air flight from Barrow to Fairbanks was canceled.  I immediately called Alaska Air lines to see what they could do.  After spending several minutes on the phone, the agent confirmed the flight was canceled and came up with a 6pm flight from Barrow to Anchorage and a 11pm flight from Anchorage to Fairbanks.

In the process of discussing the suggested changes, I asked if there were any options through Prudhoe Bay.  She put me on hold for about 10 minutes and when she returned to the line she started apologizing profusely.  As it turned out, there was a mix up and the Prudhoe Bay flights were canceled. She returned our flight to the originally scheduled flight and all worked out and we are now in Fairbanks.
Go figure!!!

Interesting fact about the planes they use to fly to the small Northern towns like Barrow and Prudhoe Bay is that passengers board from the back of the aircraft.  There is a solid wall divider between rows 15 and 16.  There is additional cargo where rows 1 through 15 would normally be.  Passengers sit in rows 16 to the rear of the plane.

One additional point of interest.  In the debate over the pronunciation of Barrow, i.e., "bear-o" vs "bar-o", after surveying a significant sample of locals, it must be concluded that "bear-o" is the correct local vernacular.